Loading...On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God;
we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
(Isaiah 25:6-9, NRSV)
These are beautiful words from the prophet Isaiah. I use them as the scripture text at funerals, memorials, “celebrations of life” for people who are not part of any church, for those who have not been a part of the congregation since – forever, or for those family members who just don’t know where to start when it comes to a scripture reading for the service.
I used this text for the memorial service for Dave, a man who hadn’t been a part of the church in town, ever, but his family knew that faith was important to him.
They didn’t even know where to begin, except that the service was going to be at the VFW hall, where he was a very active member and had lots of friends. As I got to know Dave through their stories, it was obvious that he liked to cook and he loved a dinner party, or a cookout, as the case may be.
These verses from Isaiah with the vision of the huge table, the groaning table, of the feast that God spreads for all and invites all to be a part of was the clear choice of texts for Dave’s service. Sure enough, the family and friends also organized a potluck feast to follow his memorial!
Isaiah writes of, sings of, an open table,
a big table,
a full table.
He describes God’s Welcome Table.
It brings to mind the adage you may have heard:
“If you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.”
This brings to mind the “Migrant Caravan”: the thousands of women, men, and children from Central American countries making their way on foot from their homeland toward the United States.
They are the most recent iteration of people on the move from a place of
loss, violence, corruption, and even death to life.
Our human story is about migration, and about the refuge we find in God.
• After generations of being enslaved in Egypt, God freed the Hebrew people, led them through the Red Sea, and they had a feast on the other side of the sea.
• At the edge of the promised land, those former slaves who had been freed, and the generations who had been born while the people were migrating, hear the call to remember who they were, from where they had come, and, mostly, who had freed them from slavery.
• Many generations later, after civil war and being hauled off into exile in Babylon, Isaiah sang to the people a vision of a return to life after one more migration.
• John, the one who had all of the visions was speaking to people who were filled with fear and who were living in the midst of loss, violence, corruption, and even death when he reminded them that God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Immigrants, refugees, and migrants from near and far, no matter the point in history,
always have a home in God with comfort, peace, a feast, and tender care.
In this tender story of Lazarus’ death and burial,
when Jesus, for whatever reason, delayed his arrival to his friends’ house, until Lazarus was dead and buried, Jesus, with his friends and Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha, wept.
Yet, that death was not the end.
Jesus called Lazarus from death, and told the others:
“Unbind him and let him go!”
Lazarus is given freedom and life, not death or loss.
We are given freedom and life, not death or loss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whether the story is about Lazarus, the migrant, those in exile, any who are filled with fear, those who have experienced death – if not a physical death, then an emotional one – or loss,
we are invited to this feast table, this groaning table.
I suspect that all of us feel loss to some degree.
We may feel that grief more keenly because of the news, the hype, and the hyperbole. Our own sense of dread and anxiety may be running at full throttle.
You may be bound up in anxiety and fear, which is its own kind of death.
And Jesus says, “Unbind them and let them go –
so that you are free to live,
free to welcome
free to love
free to sit at the Table --which defies time and space—with all the saints
because the Table of God is long enough and full enough and welcoming enough for all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of my advisors and professors when I was in seminary told this story – an apocryphal one. It is more of a vision than a story:
Jesus was having a big ol’ party over in heaven. A whole bunch of folks were there and more kept coming. There would be a knock on the door, and someone new would come it. Jesus would greet them with joy, and start to visit with them. This happened over and over again, but some of the party-goers noticed that Jesus kept looking over at the door with a worried little look even when no one was there knocking. Finally, Peter – you know, Peter, the guy who speaks up for all of us when we’re all thinking the same thing – asks, “Hey, Jesus! You keep looking over at the door. Are you expecting someone?” And Jesus answers, “Yes! I keep wondering where Judas is.”
~~~~~~~~~
All are brought to this Table, this feast Table spread with good things.
We are brought here, welcomed, fed, and nourished,
because it is for you and you and you and for all the saints.
Amen
